William Hill announces placing as revenues improve
Bookmaker William Hill announced a share placing on Tuesday to bolster its balance sheet, as it reported an improvement in group revenues.
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The company said it plans to issue up to 19.99% of its existing share capital in a placing being conducted through an accelerated bookbuild, with Barclays and Citi acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners.
"The proceeds of the placing will be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet providing strategic and financial flexibility during these unprecedented times, and to ensure we have a balance sheet to match our long-term growth ambitions," it said. "We believe that the placing will allow us to continue to execute on those ambitions, most noticeably in building on our leading position in the fast-growing US market. Importantly, it will also provide wider group resilience in the event of further economic and regulatory disruption."
The company also issued a trading update for the six weeks to 9 June, in which it highlighted "a strong recovery" in recent weeks as Covid-19 restrictions eased and sporting events began to return.
"We expect the trading backdrop to remain uncertain but are encouraged to see both online and the US performing ahead of our initial expectations," it said.
Group revenue during the period fell 50%, which was a little better than 57% decline seen in the previous six-week period. Online revenue dipped just 3% versus a 21% fall in the previous six weeks, while UK online revenue was 8% lower compared to a 33% drop previously.
US revenue was down 62% - an improvement on the 90% slump in the preceding six weeks.
William Hill said online sports wagers improved "significantly" thanks to the resumption of horseracing and the German Bundesliga. In March and April customers continued to place bets on alternative products such as table tennis and activity has remained high alongside the return of horseracing and football, it said.
Chief executive officer Ulrik Bengtsson said: "The return of sporting events has driven a strong recovery in our online volumes. Our UK online business is in a better place than ever and our international business is displaying solid growth.
"In the US we have used this period of lockdown wisely to move our product forward and we are now in a strong position to capitalise on the US growth opportunity that lies ahead."